The Arbour Festival will employ local artists, technicians and businesses for the entire event that has been designed to gather the community in celebration, memory and growth exactly one year on from the Dunns Road fire.

Batlow resident Sulari Gentill, who is a writer for the event, said this is an opportunity for many people affected by the fires to take a step towards healing.

Ms Gentill said the tragedy of last summer has been difficult to process because the grief came to a halt when the global pandemic turned the world upside down again. She hoped this event will reestablish the networks lost and remind others that they are not alone.

"Immediately after the fires whenever you saw someone in Batlow, you didn't just say hello and wave, you hugged them and said I'm glad you're still here," she said.

"It almost became a greeting because people needed that sense of community and survival, but then COVID-19 socially distanced people and suddenly we could not do that anymore."

The Arbour Festival will start on December 28 continuing through to the day the fire was declared under control on February 15.

There will be a series of installation artworks situated amongst the trees of the Pilot Hill Arboretum, a curated series of workshops, talks and adventures that will take place to plant new ideas and give visitors a reason to take a holiday in the mountains.

A concert from Tooma's Fanny Lumsden and other performers will be a highlight and after a four year hiatus, the Woodland Film Festival will return for a cinema screening in the forest.

Regional Arts Australia Fellow Vanessa Keenan, who will curate the festival's program, said there are still many people not ready to talk about the experience, but this is one way to bring people together in a way that is not confronting.

"It's so important for the community to come together this summer in acknowledgement of the one year anniversary of the fires," she said.

"There's a lot of healing that still needs to happen and for some, seeing an artwork or participating in an event provides an opportunity for people to find connections with what they've gone through that doesn't always involve words."

Eastern Riverina Arts executive director Tim Kurylowicz said there are extraordinary artists in the Snowy Valleys, who are at the top of their game, but were severely impacted by the fires.

"This is an opportunity to have something positive to focus on, but also an opportunity for them to work at a larger scale than before," he said.

"There's a great network of creative people in the Snowy Valleys, and Arbour Festival is about them creating amazing events and installations for locals and visitors alike to experience during the anniversary of these fires."

Local artists, businesses and groups have been encouraged to participate and register for more information at www.arbourfestival.com